Health

Changes in sexual practices over five years of follow-up among heterosexual men in San Francisco

Article Abstract:

Recent years have witnessed an increase in the rate of heterosexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the causative agent of AIDS. Among heterosexual men, the proportion of AIDS cases increased from 0.1 percent of all US AIDS cases in 1983 to 1.4 percent in 1988; for heterosexual women, the percentage increased from 13 percent of all US AIDS cases in 1983 to 28 percent in 1988. The sexual behavior and changes in high-risk behavior of 179 heterosexual men from the San Francisco area were studied over a five-year period. When the study began, in 1984, none of the participants was infected with HIV. In more recent follow-up periods, the men reported fewer sexual partners and an increased use of condoms, compared with earlier follow-up periods. Men who were married during the five-year study (75) were analyzed separately from those who were not married. The number of unmarried men (104) who had two or more partners in the previous 6 months, decreased from 53.2 percent to 40.7 percent. One of the 209 men (less than 0.5 percent) became infected with HIV during the five-year study. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Population-based estimates of antiretroviral therapy and anti-Pneumocystis prophylaxis in San Francisco: 1991

Article Abstract:

Significantly more HIV-positive men surveyed in San Francisco used antiviral therapy and preventative anti-Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) therapy in 1991 than in 1987-89. Of 42 men with AIDS, 93% had used antiretroviral drugs at some time, up from 58% in 1989, and 71% were currently using them. Also, 81% had used anti-PCP therapy before, up from 44% in 1989, and 67% were currently undergoing anti-PCP therapy. Of 313 HIV-positive men without AIDS, 57% had used antiretroviral drugs and 46% were currently taking them. Only 32% of them had ever undergone preventative anti-PCP therapy and 26% were currently undergoing anti-PCP therapy. The San Francisco HIV-positive population is more educated, has a higher socioeconomic status and greater awareness of and access to HIV treatment than does most of the HIV-infected population in the US. These finding suggest that in areas where both patients and doctors are well-informed of treatments available, high use of HIV therapy can be achieved.

Factors associated with human immunodeficiency virus seroconversion in homosexual men in three San Francisco cohort studies, 1984-1989

Article Abstract:

Homosexual or bisexual men who have more sexual partners may have a higher risk of HIV infection than those with fewer sexual partners. Those who have receptive anal intercourse may also have a higher risk of HIV infection than those who do not. A study compared 83 homosexual or bisexual men who became HIV-positive between 1984 and 1989 to 246 who did not become HIV-positive during this time period. Fifty-seven percent of the HIV-positive men had five or more male sexual partners, compared to 34% of the HIV-negative men. Men who were HIV-positive were more likely to have had receptive anal intercourse or receptive oral intercourse than those who were HIV-negative. The risk of HIV infection was higher among men who used condoms with some partners than among those who did not use condoms with any partners. Men who used condoms with some partners may have had sex with a larger number of HIV-positive partners than those who did not use condoms with any partners.